Shoe construction comprising an integral upper and insole



March 14, 1961 w. c. WOLFF SHOE CONSTRUCTION COMPRISING AN INTEGRAL UPPER AND INSOLE Filed Aug. 1, 1958 IMVEA/TOE WILLIAM C. WOLF/f a /d awgw 07 a? shoe upper and insole are formed;

pleted shoe;

line 88 of Figure 6;

blank, generally indicated by A, from which the upper and insole are formed may be conveniently cut in one operation in the cutting room by a clicker die.

cludes the irregular shaped inner section 10, the generally central area of which provides the material constituting the insole section of the shoe and the marginal areas of which constitute the side sections of the 'vamp and quarters when the blank is folded and stitched.

area of the blank is an oval cut-out 11 which is closed by cross stitching indicated at 12' (Figures 4 and 8), the purpose of which is to retract inwardly this section to conform the insole and the intermediate or quarter sections of the upper to the contour of the instep of the wearers foot.

nited States atent SHOE CONSTRUCTION COMPRISING AN INTEGRAL UPPER AND INSOLE William C. Wollf, 5 Ladue Ridge Road, St. Louis 17, Mo.

Filed Aug. 1, 1958, Ser. No. 752,588

1 Claim. (CI. 36-41) This invention relates to a shoe construction, and 5 more particularly to an improved shoe of the casual type and the method of making the same;

An object of the invention is to construct a shoe, the

upper and insole of which are made from a single blank of material to produce a foot fitting construction which will have sufiicient strength and reenforcement so that it will hold its shape in use.

It is known that heretofore shoes have been constructed from a single blanked-out piece of material that forms a complete upper and an insole, but the prior constructions of this type fail in that such shoes are ill-fitting, and are not durable in use. tion largely overcomes these deficiencies, while retaining the advantages of economy of manufacture resulting from the simplicity of manufacture.

The present construc- Another objectof the invention is to provide an improved method of manufacture of a shoe of this type that is simple and effective to provide a durable and foot fitting shoe.

These objectives and other detailed advantages of the invention are attained by a construction according to the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 7 is a cross-sectional view substantially on the line 7-7 of Figure 6;

Figure 8 is a cross-sectional view substantially on the Figure 9 is a detailed sectional view on the line 9-9 of Figure 6; and

Figure 10 is a detailed sectional view on the line 1010 of Figure 6.

In the embodiment of the invention illustrated, the

This blank of leather or other suitable material in- At the approximate longitudinal center of this inner At each side margin of the blank 10, inwardly tapering or wedge-shaped cut-outs 13 are formed in the blank so that, when the blank is folded, the marginal edges of material of the blank of the cut-outs are outturned and joined by a row of stitching indicated at 14 (Figures 4 and 10). The result of this is to appreciably draw in the top line of the finished shoe and to cause sides of the vamp and quarter sections of the shoe to curve inwardly from the bottom to the top of the upper, as will clearly appear by reference to Figures 7 and 8.

The marginal side edges of the central section 10 of the blank form an elongated rectangular strip. The forward end of each forms a tab 15 that extends for wardly of the seam 14 and the rearward section 16, which provides a trim and reenforcement for the throat and top line of the shoe. It will be noted by reference particularly to Figures 6 and 8 that these sections 15 and 16 overturn the'upper marginal part of the blank in the quarter section of the finished shoe, and a row of stitching 17 secures this binding strip entirely around the upper margin of the quarter and heel sections of the shoe, and that the tip end of the binding strip extends forwardly of the rows of stitching 14.

The rear margin of the section 10 of the blank inwardly of the rear ends of the sections 16 is curved as indicated at 18. The curved margin slopes inwardly toward the center of the blank, and the blank develops into a heel section 19, the side margins of which are cut to provide outwardly convex edges 28 that merge into a generally rectangular portion 21. The curved margins 18 and 28 are outturned and are joined together by rows of stitching 22.

The marginal edge of the rectangular section 21 is folded inwardly, and rows of stitching 23 extend through and join the two layers of the section 21 and the two layers of the rear ends of the section 16 firmly together. It will be noted that the lateral ends of the section 21 extend forwardly of and overlie the seams 22, thus providing a strong reenforcement at the heel section of the shoe.

It should be further noted that contouring of the sections, as described, provides for a properly shaped heel in order that the heel section conforms to the heel of the wearer and prevents slipping of the heel when worn.

The forward edge of the section 10 of the blank is cut to provide inwardly curved edges 25 that merge into a section 26. The side edges 27 slope inwardly with the narrowest portion where these edges join the edges 25, and the outer portion section 26 is generally rectangular.

In completing the vamp section of the shoe, the part of the blank 10 forward of the stitching 14 is folded upwardly and the margin outturned, and placed adjacent to the outturned margin of the inner part of the section 26. These margins are then joined by rows of stitching 28. It will be noted that by shaping the section 26 as described a vamp section is provided that conforms to the foot of the wearer both at the sides of the vamp and around the toe tip.

By reference to Figure 6, it will be noted that, after the vamp section has been closed, the tabs 15 extend forward of the vertical lines of stitching 14- and are stitched to the underface of that part of the member 26 near the inner marginal part thereof and over the seams 28 by stitching 29.

This construction provides a reenforcement extending entirely around the throat and top line of the shoe from the heel section forward and into the vamp section, holding the shoe to shape and relieving tension on the vertical seams 14 and 22.

It should be noted also that the vertical seams 22 joining the parts of the heel section support the top line at the heel and hold the shape of the heel, thereby eliminating the requirement for a heel counter, and that the seams 28 joining the margins of adjacent edges of the parts forming the vamp are sufiicient to hold the toe tip to shape without the use of a toe box.

After the blank has been folded and stitched as described, it is preferred that it be shapedby being soaked in a vat or rnuller and lasted on a suitable expanding last, after which the sole member 30, of any suitable material, is applied and secured in place by cementing as shown, or by any other conventional means.

From the foregoing description, it will be obvious that the invention, as disclosed, fully accomplishes the objectives of providing a shoe that will be well fitting and capable of holding its original shape, and therefore will be durable in use, and that the shoe may be economically manufactured because of the simplicity of the method for its production.

What is claimed is:

A shoe comprising a unitary piece of shoe material to which a sole is attached wherein the unitary piece of shoe material includes a central section for defining an inner sole side extension contiguous with and bent upward from the inner sole for defining the side walls of the vamp, a forward portion contiguous with and extending upwardly from the front part of the central section to form the toe of the shoe and being bent across the shoe to form the top of the cap, the forward portion having side edges and a top edge, the forward part of the top edges of the side extensions being joined to the side edges of the forward portion, a rear extension contiguous with and bent upward from the inner sole for defining the back wall of the heel, the side extensions each having a rear edge and the rear extension having side edges stitched to the rear edges of the side extensions, an upper margin of the top of the side extensions rearward of the part joined to the side edges of the forward portion being folded over and attached to the adjacent part of the side extensions to form a top line binding, tabs contiguous with the forward part of the upper margins extending over and attached to the aforementioned forward part of the side extensions, the rear extension having a part at its top wider than the distance between the side edges of the rear extension and folded over and attached to both the adjacent part of the rear extension and the adjacent parts of the side extensions.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,178 Keen June 21, 1839 1,104,357 Hassel July 21, 1914 1,386,651 Pageau Aug. 9, 1921 2,061,746 Wagner Nov. 24, 1936 2,185,362 Troy Jan. 2, 1940 2,212,610 Lyness Aug. 27. 1940 2,384,927 Julianelli Sept. 18, 1945 ,391,720 Ludwig Dec. 25, 1945 2,444,822 Grifiin July 6, 1948 2,487,227 Eberle Nov. 8, 1949 2,513,005 Crawford June 27, 1950 2,628,438 Luchs Feb. 17, 1953 ,730,736 Perugia Ian. 17, 1956 

